Former Saracens, Lions, Bulls and Springbok forward Wikus van Heerden will hang up his boots this weekend.

Van Heerden, who was a World Cup winner under Jake White in 2007, will play his last competitive game of rugby on Saturday, when he dons the Lions jersey against the Sharks in a Currie Cup match in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The flanker-cum-lock played 14 Tests for the Boks, having made his debut in June 2003 as a flank against Scotland in Durban. He played a further four tests, but then found himself on the outside of the squad following the rise to prominence of Schalk Burger and Juan Smith. His next game came four years later, when he started at Stadium Australia after the Boks sent a weakened team to the away leg of the Tri-Nations before the 2007 World Cup. He had a brilliant game, even scoring a try, and this had a significant impact on getting him selected for the World Cup in France. Van Heerden played in all four pool games and came off the bench in the quarter-final against Fiji and against England in the World Cup Final in Paris.

The 33-year-old Van Heerden, who is also the son of former Springbok lock Moaner van Heerden, began his career as an openside flank and played for the Lions twice in his career, as well as being on the Bulls roster. He won the Super 14 with the Bulls in 2007 and the Currie Cup last year with the Lions.

He had a very successful stint with Saracens in London between November 2008 and March 2010, playing in 21 matches and scoring two tries, one of which was on his debut. He was also part of the Saracens team that defeated the Springbok touring team 24-23 at Wembley in November 2009. He surprisingly returned to the Lions mid-season and took up a leadership role for the team.

Unfortunately his return was marred by injury, as he broke his arm in his first Super Rugby game and was out until the fourth match of the Currie Cup. However, the injury curse struck again as he broke his arm in exactly the same place in that match, sidelining him for a further several weeks. Fortunately he played regularly in 2011, capturing his first Currie Cup trophy in October last year.

This year, he was again struck by injury, this time a concussion after being spear-tackled by Cheetahs centre Andries Strauss in the first round of the Super Rugby competition in February. Van Heerden, who was always known as a tough-as-teak customer and as someone who revelled in the physical side of the game, was left unconscious on the field for several minutes in this particular incident.

We wish Wikus all the luck in the world in his retirement and may he find similar success in whatever career he pursues!